Introduction

Summary Information

Plots

Variable Comparisons

  • Description: The above plot displays the average number of white prison admissions proportional to a state’s average white population versus the average number of black prison admissions proportional to a state’s average black population. These values were determined by the sums of all county data of a state over the years 2000 to 2018. A line of best fit has also been included using linear regression. The data seems to have a fairly strong correlation, and the plot’s purpose was to determine if prison admission rates were relatively equal or changed in similar ways after adjusting for total population as a fair metric of seeing what percentage of the total population for a certain race is really being admitted into jail. With a slope of 3.46, there seems to be a strong disparity towards the admissions of black individuals compared to white individuals per state, with the x-axis only ranging from 0 to around 0.004 while the y-axis ranges from 0 to slightly above 0.0015. The states with admission rates for blacks significantly greater than whites were mostly beyond the top 6 states with the highest populations and instead correspond to many states that typically have a majority vote in favor of the Republican Party, which may have some influence over policies that exist in the policing systems of those states.
  • Description: The above plot displays the average number of black prison admissions proportional to a state’s average total prison admissions versus the average number of white prison admissions proportional to a state’s average total prison admissions. These values were determined by the sums of all county data of a state over the years 2000 to 2018. A line of best fit has also been included using linear regression. The data seems to have a weaker correlation and is fairly scattered across the U.S., and this plot had a similar purpose as the last to identify any trends present as a result of trying to “equalize” black prison admissions and white prison admissions by making them as proportions relative to total prison admissions. However, it is apparent that this is not as well of a metric as the previous was based on population within each state, which may actually be a result of the fact that the total prison admissions themselves are skewed towards particular racial groups. There may be a slight negative trend present throughout the U.S., where increases in black prison admissions correspond with decreases in white prison admissions, but this seems more unlikely and is an indication that a different approach may be needed for this problem, or a different fit rather than the least squares method. This plot serves as evidence that not all proportions are useful or lead to equalized results, and that our preexisting beliefs related to research topics do not always have to end up being proven.

Maps

  • Description: The above regional plot displays the average number of black prisoners across various counties within the 50 states between the years of 2000 to 2018. An important note to this graph is that null values, or an absence of data for the number of black prisoners, is indicated by a value of 0. There are a total of 11 states that fall into this category. The purpose of the following visualization is to determine if black prison populations are simply correlated to states with high populations in general, or if there are apparent disparities regionally when contrasted with white prison populations. One key observation to note is that the largest number of prisoners for this graph reaches 40,000 despite the fact that the black population in the U.S. overall is considerably lower than that for the white population. The below graph corresponds to the above graph in that three of the states with the largest populations also have the largest black prison populations and white prison populations, which can be a combination of large population size as well as skewed excess of incarcerations of black individuals. To observe from a case-study basis, Alabama has an average of 14000 black prisoners compared to 9210 white prisoners from the below graph. It appears that in both graphs data reporting is consistent in most places excluding the upper northwest portions of the U.S.. Unfortunately, it does appear that the area known as the “black belt” where there is a higher proportion of black individuals in the U.S. exceeds the white population. Simply when given the perspective that only around 13.4% of the U.S. is black compared to 61.6% white, there needs to be a tremendous overhaul in policies related to incarcerations and systemic efforts to eradicate the pervasive racial bias that remains.
  • Description: The above regional plot displays the average number of white prisoners across various counties within the 50 states between the years of 2000 to 2018. An important note to this graph is that null values, or an absence of data for the number of white prisoners, is indicated by a value of 0. There are a total of 11 states that fall into this category. There are a total of 11 states that fall into this category. The purpose of the following visualization is to determine if white prison populations are simply correlated to states with high populations in general, or if there are apparent disparities regionally when contrasted with black prison populations. One key observation to note is that the largest number of prisoners for this graph reaches around 35,000 white prisoners despite the fact that the black population in the U.S. overall is considerably lower than that for the white population. To observe from another case-study basis, California, Texas, and Florida all have average white prisoner populations that are less than their black prisoner populations, differing in population by 5-8k more black individuals. Towards some of the west and midwest, multiple states exceed in white prisoner populations, which may be more as a result of incredibly low black populations, or improved policies in incarceration methods, and may require further investigation. An overall takeaway here, however, is that a large proportion of states contain prisoner populations with more blacks than whites, despite the differences in these racial proportions within the nation, making it all the more imperative to utilize these sources as a means to push for public policy.